Obsidian Waters
by Fallen Dreamer
Summary: This is a complete re-telling of the X-men universe, including the comics, cartoon series, and movies. First fic so please read and review, thanks!
1. Prologue

**Obsidian Waters**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Marvel or any of its characters; much to our sorrow; considering the fact that we'd be bajillionaires!**

**Tiffany's Thoughts: This is our first X-men fic so please read and review cause we worked very hard! Thanks so much!**

An X-Men Fan-fiction

By **Jenna** and _**Tiffany**_

**Prologue**

The air was still, cold, and had a slight musty odor like an old library; but this place was devoid of the warmth of wood and books. This was a hollow hallway made of cold black marble; floor, walls, and ceiling. The white-clad hooded figure stepped silently down the seemingly endless hall. Looking back, the black marble would disappear into a pit of darkness. Reaching the end of such a corridor seemed like a lifetime, but she had walked this hall many times. And her masters awaited her.

When at last the cloaked woman reached the end of the black; she stood before two large steel doors, cold like the marble walls that embraced them. She knocked three times and waited.

This place seemed like a nexus where time itself stood still and held its breath. There was no concept of the seconds or minutes that might have passed. She stood there like a statue might in a tomb located in some far away land. Who knew such a place existed beneath the streets of Manhattan.

A latch was opened on the other side, and the right door swung open slowly and silently. She too moved silently, as she entered the noir that awaited her on the other side. In this great room there was no light to see those who waited here. Their vigil was one kept in the deepest dark the world might ever know.

She heard a voice whisper inside her head. "Merge," it began, a woman's voice smooth, slow, and deliberate. "We require your services once again. The Oracles have foreseen a great loss by the hand of one who is now your target. She must be removed from the time stream. Go now, and may the Ether keep you."

The hooded figure bowed and walked out the way she came. As she stepped through the door she opened her eyes and was now looking up at a white plaster ceiling above her bed. She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Stretching, she threw her feet over the edge of the bed and slipped them into sandals waiting on the floor. It was a ritual for her, performed countless times.

The woman walked across the room to her small oak dresser. A silver-framed mirror hung above

it on the white wall, and she glanced at her reflection.

Her skin was like glass, soft like normal flesh but transparent. She could see her skull and the red and blue veins that ran through her face. Her nose was a slender featureless thing, without nostrils. Unlike humans, she did not breathe through her nose.

The only feature on her face that was opaque were her eyes, which were large blue orbs with black horizontal slits for pupils. She had no eyebrows, but long silvery strands of hair that scattered the light and shown pearlescent. Her hair parted in the center and flowed in waves like water that broke as they lapped at her shoulders.

The woman closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again her appearance had changed completely. Her hair was the same, a feature out of her control, but her skin was no longer clear. Now she looked much like a normal human, aside from her hair, with an ivory complexion and unassuming blue eyes.

She frowned at her reflection one last time as she finished dressing for the day.

Downstairs she was greeted by another of her order, the one they called Sanctum, a matronly older woman with gray hair and violet eyes. She too wore the white robes of their order.

"Here are the documents for your next mission. You know what to do, Merge."

"Yes," Merge replied softly. "Yes, unfortunately, I do."


	2. Chapter 1

**Obsidian Waters**

An X-Men Fan-fiction

By: **Jenna** and **_Tiffany_**

**Chapter 1**

'_Xavier Institute of Higher Learning, how cheesy,' _Fael thought, as she read the plaque recessed into the tall white stucco wall. It was a complete contrast to the cloud-covered midnight sky. The ebony-clad woman jumped, and soared over the wall with hardly an effort. She landed on the lawn of the institute without so much as a sound. There was a substantial oak tree not far from her, and in the blink of an eye she was standing on one of its thick branches; ten feet off the ground.

Fael's solid black eyes scanned the ground and surrounding area. There was no movement, but she knew that just below the surface of this perfectly manicured lawn were several deadly defense mechanisms just waiting to blow her away. She hastily pulled one of her pigtails from a branch it had gotten snagged in.

Fael surveyed the landscape and noted that there were just enough trees for her to reach the front of the house. She jumped tree to tree, leaping forward in a black blur completely invisible to the naked eye. Within seconds she was in a tree whose branches reached out to tickle the side of the large mansion.

Down below Fael could see movement. A single figure stood outside the front steps, a trail of smoke flowing from a lit cigarette. From her position she could not identify the mutant, but it did not matter. By his demeanor she felt little threat. She slipped past him without even disturbing the wisps of smoke surrounding him, and he didn't even realize she had reached a hand into his coat pocket.

Fael entered the mansion through the front door, which may not be atypical spy behavior, but she was the type of girl who cared more about results than method.

She moved like a silky shadow down the corridors. The job would have been much easier had they given her blueprints, but schematics for the Xavier Institute were a well guarded secret known only to the X-Men. All attempts to buy them from various individuals had failed miserably.

_At least they're an honorable lot._

Fael was flying blind as she moved throughout the house, but she knew she would find stairs eventually. Much to her surprise, it was an elevator that would bring her closer to her destination.

The elevator made little sound, which she was grateful for. The doors slid back open without so much as a squeak, and she walked out into a well lit metallic corridor.

She frowned up at the florescent lights shining down from above. This could be problematic. In darkness she blended in perfectly, but in a well-lit area she might as well be a neon sign.

Fael picked up the pace as she bounded down the hall reading the signs posted on each door. There was a medical bay, a brig, and a room called Engineering. Below the sign was taped a hand written piece of paper that read 'Forge's Room. Watch your head.'

It was then that she found the door she had been sent to find. _Dr. McCoy's Lab._

Fael stopped. She felt the back of her neck prickle. The air suddenly grew thick and warm.

"Who the hell are you?"

Fael sighed and turned around slowly holding her hands up in front of her.

"Who? Me? I'm just a lost mutant trying to find sanctuary." She smiled sweetly at the heavily muscled mutant standing in front of her. He was short in stature, a little more than five feet tall, but his arms had more bulk than her torso. His grim face was made more fierce by cold blue eyes that were wild like an untamed animal; much like his disheveled black hair. Around his neck and dangling on his white tank top were a set of dog tags. She smiled when she saw he was wearing only blue boxers.

"Yeah, right," he remarked in a snarl. A set of claws slid forth slowly from his knuckles, a trinity of long shiny blades on each hand.

"I caught you in your undies," she stated with a wide smile.

"Wha..." he began to speak, but it was too late. In his one split moment of confusion, Fael took control of the situation. She was suddenly behind him, wrapping her left leg around his waist, and placing her right arm around his neck. Before he could even finish the word he was about to speak she had silenced him by placing her hand over his mouth and nose.

Wolverine's eyes went wide as he felt his mouth and throat fill with liquid. In moments his lungs were burning as they filled to a bursting point. Within a single breath Fael had taken down one of the most formidable X-Men. She let his limp body drop to the floor.

The door to the lab slid open and a large blue-furred mutant stepped out. "Dear Gods!" he exclaimed when he looked down at Wolverine's body, now oozing an unknown black liquid from his mouth and nose.

Fael smiled at him. "Hey! I hate we had to meet this way because I am big into first impressions... It's really too bad you weren't asleep like you were supposed to be. Now you'll have to join your friend."

"That's quite enough," a woman's voice spoke out.

Fael turned to a figure clad in white, but keeping the blue mutant in her line of vision. "White boots, pants, skirt, jacket, hood... You aren't one of the X-Men are you?"

"No," the woman answered, her thin nostril-less nose the only feature visible. The hood of her white jacket covered her eyes, and her lips were shrouded by a veil of white semi-transparent fabric.

"This ought to be fun," Fael laughed. "It's been a while since I've had to fight someone I didn't already know everything about."  
The white figure remained emotionless and still.

"May I inquire as to who you two are and just what have you done to Logan?"

Fael looked back at him and sighed as if in a hurry. "His name is James, not Logan, and you should wait patiently while I take care of this distraction." She turned back to her unknown opponent. "So who are you, if you aren't an X-Man?"

"I am, Merge, and I am going to remove you from the time line."

Fael grinned. "Let's get started then."

In a white flash Merge had reached to her side, and from a circular device had pulled out a long thin stand of metallic wire.

"A garrote wire?" Fael asked. "How cliché of an assassin!"

"Your life is in peril, Doctor. You should go now," Merge said calmly to the blue furry mutant.

Hank McCoy took a step back into his lab, dragging Logan with him and the door slid shut. The lights above them suddenly went out and were replaced by red flashing lights. A siren wailed, and a female voice spoke out over the intercom. "Intruder Alert in Sub-Level B, all X-Men report." The voice repeated itself over and over again.

Merge observed a black bead of sweat make a trail down the face of her opponent. The woman's solid black eyes appeared anxious for a moment.

"You will not be killing anyone today, Inkwell," Merge said softly.

Inkwell looked at her opponent bewildered, and Merge almost smiled. "I too have information on my enemies."

Fael frowned and shot black ink down on the floor between them. "You'll have to catch me, assassin." Fael turned on her heels and began to run down the corridor, leaving a river of black liquid covering every square inch of floor behind her. "Follow me now," she said to herself with a confident smile.

Fael rounded a corner and found herself face to face with a pale blue glassy figure that could only be Iceman.

"You X-Men sure are fast," Fael began before she vaulted herself over him. She rolled across the floor and was up again before he could even turn around. "But not fast enough!" she called back to him as she kept running.

"Oh yeah?" Bobby Drake called out to her, "Why don't you chill out for a minute?" He blasted cold ice out his hands which locked on to her legs and started to climb up her torso.

"I'm too hot for you, Bobby Drake." Fael turned back and gave him a quick wink as the frost covering her fell away. She threw out her hand and four black dollops flew from her fingers and hit Bobby in the face, shrouding his eyes in an ebony goop.

"I'm afraid you're in the dark when it comes to my powers!" she laughed as he struggled in vain to wipe the viscous liquid from his eyes.

"Ahh! It burns!!!" he exclaimed, as Fael dashed away grinning.

Fael rounded the next corner quickly, but was thrown back into the wall with a sickening crack. The red blast that had sent her flying was blinding, but quickly dispersed.

"You must be Cyclops," Fael smiled at the figure standing over her, a single red horizontal glow where his eyes should be. "Nice to meet... you..." she struggled to say as she stood back up; grabbing at her torso to hold herself together.

Cyclops hesitated. She was so thin and frail looking. Even a half power optic blast should have knocked her out. By the looks of her he had most likely broken several of her ribs, if not all of them. He admired her tenacity, but it didn't stop him from sending one last blast at a quarter of its full power directly at her head.

Fael's world faded to black.


	3. Chapter 2

**Obsidian Waters**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing... *cries* Oh, wait! We do own Fael and Merge! Woot!**

**Author's Notes: We are so sad that we have no reviews... so please, can we have some?**

An X-Men Fan-fiction

By **Jenna** and **_Tiffany_**

**Chapter 2**

Fael awoke on a small bed in a small metallic room. She darted upright, immediately regretting her earnest as her chest exploded in pain. She sunk back down defeated.

"Good, you're awake," a man said. Fael could barely lift her head to see who was talking to her. Outside a thick glass wall sat a bald man in a wheelchair.

"Charles Xavier, I thought you'd never show up."

His face remained unreadable. "You obviously have gone to great lengths to learn about each member of the X-Men before today. Might I inquire why you have invaded my school in the dead of night?"

The woman smiled back at him. "No." she answered simply; as she looked up at the ceiling.

"If you know who I am then you know I could take the answers from your mind."

"So do it then," she replied. "But don't expect me to volunteer anything."

Charles Xavier frowned from his chair as he stared at the girl laying in the brig. "We could give you something for the pain," he remarked.

"Don't bother," she said as she ignored the pain and lifted herself up and out of bed; much to the Professor's astonishment.

"You have five broken ribs, shattered actually. You were in surgery for several hours. I'm not sure that you should be standing right now."

Fael looked down at the wrapping around her torso. "I see." She walked up to Charles and looked down at him from her side of the barrier between them. "I don't suppose you're going to let me go, huh?"

Charles looked up at Fael, a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had long slick black hair that was pulled up into pigtails with a wisp of bangs curving over to cover one of her solid black shark-like eyes. He had never seen her while using Cerebro, and he knew that she was not in the Xavier Protocols.

Her outfit gave no clue as to her identity. Aside from her bandages she was clad all in black. Her left arm was covered by a long black glove that almost reached her shoulder. The other hand was covered by glove, but it only went so far as to the middle of her forearm. Both gloves had the tips of the fingers missing and a hole cut where the palm would be.

The girl also had on a black pleated mini skirt made of the same material as the gloves, and a belt hanging freely and tilted to the side around her waist. It had a few pouches on it whose contents had been confiscated, but those too yielded no clues as to who she was.

Her shoes were much like her gloves, but opposite. Her left boot was a knee high, and her right boot extended all the way up to her thigh. It was like she was a play on contradiction.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible at the moment," Charles said firmly. "If you want to go home, I would suggest you rethink your decision on withholding information."

"My parents will be terribly concerned," she sighed. "My mom's probably calling the cops right now to report me missing."

"Tell me who you're parents are, and I'll let them know you're alright." Charles said kindly.

"No." Fael replied simply as she walked back to the bed. "I couldn't bare it if my mom saw me locked up like some criminal," she finished sarcastically.

Charles shook his head and wheeled himself toward the door. "I'm sure you're hungry by now. I'll have someone bring you food."

He heard her mumble something unintelligible as he exited the brig, and turned to the white clad female waiting close by.

"Hank told me how you helped him escape. It would have been tragic had she used the same technique on Beast as she had on Logan."

"She was going to," the woman said. "I was sent here to stop her."

"And so you did," Charles replied.

"It is not enough," she responded. "I was given orders to remove her from time, and that is what I must do."

"I cannot allow that," Charles stated firmly. "To do so would go against everything I've ever taught my students."

"If you do not allow me to finish my mission, there is the possibility she could still finish her objectives. That simply cannot be allowed to happen. It would have dire consequences."

"How do you know all this?" Hank McCoy asked as he approached the two of them. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm most curious to understand how you knew what was going to happen. As a mutant, do you have psychic powers? Merge, is it?"

Merge looked up at Hank with her large amphibian-like blue eyes from beneath the hood of her white jacket. "I do have some psychic powers, but I received orders from my superiors who do know what the future holds. They foresaw your death, Doctor, and I was sent here to stop it."

"Why?" Charles asked. "Why do your superiors care what happens to Dr. McCoy?"

"I cannot give you details, Professor. To do so would jeopardize the future. If any of you were to know Hank McCoy's future, you could unwittingly stop it from ever happening."

"I see," Beast pondered. "Fascinating."

"Yes," Charles agreed. "Merge, we would like to ask you some more questions if we may."

"There would be no harm in that," Merge replied. "I will answer what I can."

~*~

"So you're saying that the woman who broke in is actually an agent of HYDRA?" Wolverine snarled, still wearing the now stained tank from the night before with a pair of jeans.

"That's correct," Merge responded. "She had gathered intelligence on all the X-Men before she infiltrated the mansion. She knows all your strengths and weaknesses, and she still could harm any of you if she were able to escape."

Storm looked up at her from her place on the large brown leather sofa. Eyes that matched the color of her sun-dress, a cloudy blue, searched Merge's face. "Still, you do not have to kill her."

Merge remained stoic. "The only guarantee she does not fulfill her destiny is through death. I must be allowed to eliminate her."

Charles shook his head. "We've discussed this already. You cannot be allowed to kill her. We know nothing of the credibility of your claims."

Merge pointed a slender translucent finger at Wolverine. "He would be dead right now if not for his mutant powers." Cyclops snorted despite himself and received an elbow to the ribs from Jean.

Wolverine glared at him, but said nothing as Charles responded to Merge.

"That may be so, but if we murdered everyone who had ever failed to kill Wolverine there would be a significant difference in population numbers."

"And you said her codename is Inkwell?" Jean asked Merge. "Is that because of her abilities?"

"Yes," Merge replied to the woman wearing a rosy colored sweater. "While our blood is red, hers is black and completely under her control. It oozes out of her pores, from under her fingernails, out of the palms of her hands, and flows from her tear ducts. In addition, she can also control ink from something like a pen. A pen in her hands is a deadly projectile."

"I'm still coughing up that crap!" Wolverine complained. "I say give her over to Merge and let's go about our business."

"Logan!" Ororo exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "That's not how we do things and you know it!"

"You try drowning in black shit and see how you like it, Stormy."

Jean looked over to Wolverine. "We understand, Logan, but there's no need to overreact. We should think this through." Wolverine neither agreed nor disagreed with her. He simply looked away.

Merge said nothing as she looked up at Hank McCoy, who was standing behind the sofa where they all sat. He met her eyes and then looked to the Professor. A silence was left hanging in the room.

"Tell us about yourself," Scott said to her at last. "Just who are you really?"

Merge stared back at him. "I am Meralin Wesner. A Preventer."

"And you said The Preventers are led by a group of powerful psychics?" Jean asked.

"That's right," Merge replied. "We call them the Oracles. No one has actually ever seen them, and no one really knows what they look like or where they even are. I receive my orders from the ethereal plane, that which you may call the astral plane."

"How do you even know that these so-called Oracles are real?" Cyclops asked.

Merge closed her eyes and looked down. "I have seen what happens when someone ignores their orders. Many people suffer when one of the Preventers refuses to act."

Cyclops started to ask something, but Jean shook her head at him. _Whatever she's thinking about, Scott, it's painful._ He nodded to her.

Charles look from them to Merge. "Could you tell us about your own abilities?"

Merge lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Do you mean my alien abilities or my mutant abilities?"

Silence answered her and everyone stared at her bewildered.

Charles's face became more intense. "Do you mean to say you are from another world?"

"Not I," Merge began to answer. "My father was a Merphatod, an aquatic alien race who sought sanctuary on the Earth many moons ago. My human mother carried a recessive X gene that was passed along to me and activated when I turned twelve. I have some of his alien powers, and some mutant abilities."

Wolverine looked at her strangely. "Why are you tellin' us all this?"

"I have nothing to hide," Merge stated immediately. "And I know that at any time the information could be ripped from my mind by your telepaths. There's no sense in trying to keep it hidden, and it in no way can affect the time stream."

"Is that all you care about?" Wolverine growled.

"As a matter of fact, yes. The future must be protected from the evils of the present. That is what Preventers live for."

"Seems to me you're too busy worryin' about the future to live in the present, Ivory," Wolverine retorted.

"Ivory?" Merge asked.

"Ignore him", Cyclops responded. "He gives everyone a nickname."

Wolverine pretended not to hear him.

Merge turned back to the Professor. "I have a solution to our problem, Professor."

"Oh?" The Professor questioned.

"Yes, since you won't allow me to eliminate my target, we'll just have to compromise."


	4. Chapter 3

**Obsidian Waters**

**Disclaimer: No rights to anything Marvel, but I would love to own Gambit for a day...**

**Author's Notes: Ahh! Not one review? We're drowning in our tears.**

An X-Men Fan-fiction

By **Jenna** and _**Tiffany**_

**Chapter 3**

The door to the brig slid open and Fael lifted her head to see several individuals enter the room.

"It's impolite not to knock first," Fael commented to the ceiling. She got up from her bunk, and walked over to the glass wall in between her and her guests.

Charles wheeled up to the barrier. "We have discussed the matter and have made the decision to let you leave here peacefully, Inkwell."

Fael grinned. "You boys give up too easily, Charlie. I was just about to start singing like a canary."  
"Sure you was, Cher." A tall man, with red eyes stepped forward to get a good look at her. "Gambit doesn't see how a petite fille get past him las' night. Maybe you come in through deh window, no?"

Fael smiled as she pulled out a cigarette from down inside her top and twirled it across her fingers as she asked, "Anyone got a light?"

"Is dat Gambit's cigarette?!" the Cajun asked, stunned.

She gave him a flirtatious wink. "I picked your pocket as I was climbing 'through deh window'."

Wolverine snorted. "Gumbo got ripped off. It's about time he met his match."

"Dat not funny, Wolverine," Gambit complained. "Dat was Gambit last cigarette."

"So are you letting me out of here or what?" Fael asked. "I've people to do, and things to see."

"Don't you have that backwards, Cher?" Gambit asked as he raised a brow.

"No." she replied shortly.

Gambit found himself somewhat speechless.

Wolverine reached out a hand and pushed a glowing green button on a panel close to her cell. The barrier between them began to sink down into the floor. "No funny business, Inkblot, or you'll regret it for a long time."

Fael held up her hand and showed Wolverine a slick black palm. "You still thirsty, Wolvie?"

Cyclops, who had remained silent since they walked in, chuckled quietly. Wolverine immediately turned on him. "You think something's funny, boyscout?"

Cyclops said nothing.

"That's enough," Professor Xavier spoke at last. "You three show our guest to the door and make sure she leaves the property."

"Must be my lucky night!" Fael giggled. "Three handsome men escorting me around a lavish mansion? I must be dreaming."

"Girlie, the only part of this mansion we're showing you is the door," Wolverine barked.

"Now, now, Wolverine," Gambit said, smiling over at his fellow X-Man. "She jus' call you handsome. How many a year it been since you hear dose words?"

Wolverine ignored him as he grabbed one of Fael's arms. Gambit grabbed the other, and the two of them began to lead her away. Cyclops took up the rear, keeping his eyes focused on her just in case he needed to quickly use his optic blast. He clutched in one hand a plastic bag, which held her belongings in it.

Professor Xavier meanwhile wheeled himself into the unoccupied cell. Fael had apparently left them all souvenirs. She had painted silly portraits of each X-Man in ink on the walls. The Professor almost smiled at one in particular of a large teddy bear wearing boxers and dog tags with three claws coming out of each round paw.

**[~X~]**

Fael sighed as they walked her to the elevator. "Boys, I know the way. You don't have to drag me around."

"It ain't cause we want to," Wolverine remarked. If it were up to me we'd have given you to Merge."

"The assassin in white?" Fael asked. Wolverine thought he might have said too much. "What kind of name is Merge? That's lame. Mine is much better. Don't you think so, Gambit?"

Gambit grinned. "Gambit not gonna answer dat. Gambit know better than ta get in deh middle of a cat fight."

"Deh no cat fight, Beau," she replied, as she flawlessly replicated his Cajun accent.

"Dat impressive, Cher" he said back to her. "If Gambit not know any better he think you from _Luzianna_ too."

"That ain't impressive for a HYDRA agent, Cajun," Wolverine grunted. "They teach their goons all sorts of garbage."

"That hurts my feelings, James," Fael sniffled. "If I didn't know any better I would think you didn't like me. And after all the good times we've shared..."

The elevator doors slid open, and the four of them stepped out into a long hallway within the X-

Mansion.

"Dis intrigue Gambit," the Louisiana native stated as he looked over to Wolverine. "Wat she mean by that, mon ami?"

"She's just yappin', Cajun." Wolverine looked annoyed.

"How else would I know that your boxers are blue and made of silk, James?" Fael looked over at Gambit whose eyes went wide.

"Don't say a word, Gumbo," Wolverine stated.

"Both of you stop talking," Cyclops said at last.

Fael looked over her shoulder at the soldier-like X-Man. "Ah, is somebody jealous? James and I can't control our feelings for each other. But there's always room for one more..." She trailed off.

"My name's not James! It's Logan!" Wolverine snarled furiously.

"You _think _your name is Logan," Fael grinned mischievously. "But I know everything about you, Wolverine. Even the things you no longer remember."

Wolverine stopped dead in his tracks. Cyclops stepped forward quickly and stepped in between them. "She's just trying to get you to do something stupid, Wolverine. Let it go."

Wolverine was breathing heavily, but he quickly regained his composure. "Let's hurry up and get this over with." He grabbed her arm again, and they continued their march toward the door.

Fael started singing. "I wear my sunglasses at night..."

"Dat should be your teme song, Cyclops," Gambit teased.

"My sentiments exactly," Fael commented as she pouted her lips in a kiss to Cyclops.

When at last they reached the entryway leading up to the front doors Fael gave a little sigh. "Ah, it's over already? This place is smaller than I thought it was. How many floors do you have again?"

Gambit started to answer, but Cyclops cut him off as he opened the front door. "Get lost and don't ever come back."

"Or else." Wolverine added.

Fael just smiled at them. "Can I get a light before I go?" She held up the cigarette she had stolen.

"No!" Cyclops and Wolverine answered in unison as they tossed her out the door and slammed it shut behind her. Cyclops opened the door one last time to quickly throw her bag at her.

Before picking her belongings up off the stoop, Fael placed the stolen cigarette behind her ear. "I'll just save this for later then," she chimed cheerfully.

**[~X~ Ten Minutes Later ~X~]**

Wolverine looked from Nightcrawler to Shadowcat. "The girl's already gotten a head start, so you two pay close attention. Inkwell is a HYDRA agent, which means if she gets the jump on either one of you it's lights out. Got it?"

The two teenagers nodded in agreement and followed their team leader out into night air. Nearly twenty-four hours had past since Inkwell had invaded their school, and Wolverine was sure she was headed back to her HYDRA hideout.

This particular autumn evening was cold and crisp as the X-Men ran through the night after Inkwell.

"Tell me again why we are doing this?" Nightcrawler said, as he shivered.

"Don't be such a baby, Kurt," Shadowcat replied.

Kurt pouted. "But Kitty, I'm freezing my tail off out here."

Wolverine stopped, sniffed the air, and started running again. He looked over at Kurt as he ported up next to him. "Elf, you're an X-Man now. You better stop whining and start earnin' your keep. This is your first mission, and your only chance to prove I can count on ya."

"You're harsh, Wolverine," Kurt commented. "I hate the cold," he added, muttering under his breath.

The trio ran until they reached a bus station. Wolverine sniffed, took a few steps, sniffed again, and turned in a circle. "The trail goes cold here," Wolverine stated.

"So we can go home, right?" Kurt asked with a pleading smile.

"No," Wolverine answered calmly. "Now we track the bus."

**[~X~]**

Professor Charles Xavier wheeled himself to the elevator and headed back upstairs to turn in for the night. He was confident that Wolverine had the mission he was given under control, and with the help of Kitty and Kurt he should be able to stay out of harm's way; not that it mattered too much for him.

The Professor was on the elevator when a black screen on the panel next to the doors flickered to life. A young woman's face appeared there with pale skin, yellow eyes, and a crop of blue hair cut in a bob just below her ears.

"Good evening, Cerebro. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Charles said to the mansion's artificial intelligence.

"Professor," she began in the monotone voice of an automaton. "I have detected Laura Kinney, also known as X-23, within high level risk parameters of Wolverine's current location. Based on GPS analysis, I have calculated a direct intersection between Wolverine and X-23 if he maintains his current course."

"This is not good," Charles stated grimly. "If X-23 is there it means that she has found this faction of HYDRA. The results of which will be unfortunate."

"Your orders, Professor?" Cerebro asked, without a hint of emotion on her delicate features.

The Professor pondered the situation for a few moments before answering her. "Cerebro, please inform Storm that she is to fly to the location of X-23. She must have found the HYDRA base of operations, and there must have already been an altercation if she is using her healing powers."

Charles paused once more to consider the situation.

Cerebro interrupted his thoughts. "Based on probable outcomes, my calculations conclude Storm would not be enough to neutralize the projected scenario."

"My thoughts exactly," Xavier responded. "Tell her to ask Merge along as well. Her powers may be of use in this situation."

Cerebro closed her eyes as she calculated. "Storm and the U-M-L known as Merge are calculated to have a seventy-nine percent chance of neutralizing the scenario."

"We'll have to go with those odds. Make it so," Charles responded.

"Very well," Cerebro answered back before the screen went dark. The elevator doors opened, and Charles wheeled himself onto the first floor of the mansion.

'_I just hope Merge does not use this opportunity to harm Inkwell'_, the Professor thought to himself as he wheeled his way to his office. _'I might have made a grievous mistake.'_


	5. Chapter 4

**Obsidian Waters**

**Disclaimer: We have no rights to anyone or anything in the Marvel Universe**

**Author's Notes: We just want to give a special thanks to, Sylphxpression for reviewing! Thanks so much and keep'em coming!**

An X-Men Fan-fiction

By: **Jenna** and _**Tiffany**_

**Chapter 4**

Fael walked casually down the sidewalk next to an old building in Brooklyn. She playfully ran her hand up and down the rough brick surface as she strolled merrily along; leaving a wavy streak of thick black ink behind her.

Inkwell smiled as she rounded a corner, but her smile quickly faded as she stood staring at the HYDRA base; her home, completely engulfed in flames.

"No!" she shrieked as she ran toward the blaze. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she sped toward the building as fast as her legs could carry her. "No!" she screamed over and over again, as her face grew warmer by the heat radiating from the inferno. Her mind raced with questions. _Why? How? When? Where are the firetrucks? Where are the other HYDRA personnel? _

In her obsidian eyes, reflected the fast dancing flames that licked up the side of the brick building, charring them as black as the inky tears that ran down her face. They were the first tears she had shed in well over three years, and she simply could not hold them back any longer.

She had to get inside somehow. She had to see if anyone needed to be rescued. Fael squinted as she raced into what was once the entry. She felt enveloped by a blanket of searing heat. The pores of her skin began to ooze black ink that covered her skin in a protective liquid film.

Inkwell could still feel the heat on her eyes which she kept half closed as she scrambled through the burning debris. She was barely able to see through the thick acrid smoke. She coughed as it filled her lungs.

Inkwell crouched down low as she navigated a labyrinth of wreckage. Seconds seemed like hours. She thought nothing of death though. What she saw in her mind was a basement. A cold, dark basement where they had kept her for so long, and how HYDRA had freed her from it.

Inkwell could just barely make out a shadowy figure up ahead. She silently wished that she was not to late to save them. When she reached the figure her eyes went wide in shock. Not one figure, but two.

A pair of claws slid out of the second body which slumped to the dust covered floor in a sickening thud. Inkwell recognized the dead HYDRA agent, murdered, by none other than X-23.

"Murderer!" Inkwell shrieked at her. "Betrayer! How could you do this? How could you do this to me? I was your friend!" Inkwell lunged at her, but X-23 dodged easily.

Fael felt herself moving slower than she usually would have. The smoke in her lungs was suffocating her. Laura stood there comfortably, as any damage she took was healed almost instantly.

"Ink," Laura said sadly. "We were friends, which is why you're still alive." She turned her back to Inkwell and started to walk away.

"No!" Fael screamed at her as she collapsed to all fours on the floor. She felt her head swimming and she looked down at the floor, continuing to scream out to her former friend. "If you were my friend you wouldn't have destroyed my home, or killed my family. You should have just left and never come back!"

Laura continued to walk away.

'_I can't let it end this way,_' Fael said to herself in her mind._ 'Not like this!'_

Inkwell summoned what was left of her strength and stumbled back to her feet. In a blinding, adrenaline-filled rage she dashed at X-23. In her fury she put her full weight into pushing her former friend into a fallen support beam covered in flames.

Laura grunted as she hit the wooden object. She cried out in pain as red hot nails were plunged into her stomach, and the blaze ate away her skin like acid.

X-23 pushed her body up off the board. Bits of her flesh still clung to the nails and sizzled as it burned away.

"You can't kill me, Ink," she called out as she turned around to face her attacker. There was nothing there. It was as if Inkwell had never been there.

Laura cringed as her wounds began to heal over. She could not smell Inkwell with all the smoke surrounding her. She had no way to predict the next attack.

X-23 felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, and fell onto her stomach across the floor. Inkwell had launched an attack from above, coming down on X-23's neck with a sharp blow from her boot.

Laura felt the vertebra in her neck snap back into place of it's own accord. Any other person would be dead from a severed spinal cord. She pushed herself back up.

"You shouldn't have come back, Kinney," a disembodied voice called out from the smoke. "I will find a way to kill you for this."

"Ink," Laura coughed out as blood ran from the corners of her mouth. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I can't say the same." Inkwell replied, voice void of emotion. She flew out from the smoke with a broken piece of wall pipe. It slid into Laura's midsection like a hot knife in butter.

Laura's eyes went wide as she stared down at the pipe now sticking clearly through her middle. She looked up at Inkwell as she stumbled into her. Laura grabbed onto Inkwell's shoulders and looked into those deep, black, soulless eyes.

Fael let no emotion betray her as she stared down at her old friend. "I will find a way to destroy you, Kinney. Nothing lasts forever."

As Laura slumped into her arms, Inkwell sank to the floor holding X-23 gently in her lap. She softly placed one hand over her former comrade's nose and mouth, and let the black ink flow into her. A black tear fell silently from her face onto the cheek of Laura Kinney.

"What did you do?!" a gruff voice snarled at her. Laura was snatched from Inkwell's arms by a large figure that loomed over her. "Laura..." he said softly to the body in his arms. He wrenched the pipe out of her with one hand while holding her firmly with the other. The pipe clanged on the floor as he dropped it.

"You know she's not dead," Fael said flatly. She got up and dusted herself off. "Well, that was fun. Why don't we go out for Chinese next? Or maybe we could order in..."

Wolverine had never punched a woman, but his fist flew out before he could control himself. Inkwell's jaw felt like it had exploded as she wheeled from the assault, and flew back across the broken floor.

She laughed as she spit out black blood. Her laughter grew and grew until it was a wild, hysterical thing. "She's going into hysterics, someone should slap her..." she quoted as she continued to laugh.

Drops of water began to fall down on them. It was raining. Even through the pops and cracks of the fire, Fael heard thunder from above. The thought of it made her laugh even more.

Wolverine looked at her, bewildered, as she stood back up and faced him. Her face grew serious once more as she wiped the black blood from her face. "Go ahead, Wolverine, kill me. You know you want to. I could have killed Laura, the closest thing you have to a daughter. I would still kill her if given the chance."

Wolverine snarled. "I know what you're trying to do, and it ain't gonna work."

"I said kill me, James!" she screamed at him. "Or let Merge do it! If you don't I will fulfill my destiny and kill as many X-Men as possible! Your telepaths would never see it coming! Kill me before I kill _your _family! The same way your daughter killed mine!"

The blackened wreckage hissed as the torrent of rain and wind put out the blaze. Wolverine looked up through a gap in the roof to see Storm hovering above.

A large crack sounded and a groan of wood, brick, and metal as it began to collapse inward. Wolverine could see it was all going to fall on Inkwell. He did not hesitate as he ran toward her. He tossed Laura into her and fell onto them both as the entire roof came crashing down on top of the trio.

Outside, Shadowcat cried out in horror as the building collapsed in on itself. "Kurt! We have to help them!"

Nightcrawler nodded. "Ja. Let's go." He grabbed her arm as they ran forward and Kitty phased them through the wreckage.

They found the three beneath a massive amount of rubble being supported solely by Wolverine, who held it up off the two woman beneath him. His muscles shook with strain as he used every bit of strength he had to save them.

"Let it fall," Fael said quietly from beneath him. His eyes were closed tightly shut and his teeth were clinched as he struggled to bear the load. "You two will survive," she continued. "Let it fall... Please."

"No!" he grunted through gritted teeth. His brow dripped with sweat as he tried to keep steadily breathing.

Fael was about to knock his arms out from under him when a blue hand gripped her shoulder. She suddenly felt like she was being pulled through a vacuum, but only for a split second. A moment later she was laying on the pavement, the cool night air surrounding her in a pocket of bliss in itself. She looked up at a black urban sky with no stars. '_Of course there's no stars. There's no reason to shine tonight._' She thought somberly.

Fael heard a moan next to her and looked over as Laura opened her eyes again. She blinked and lifted her head, looking at the perfectly round hole in the part of her uniform covering her midsection. Beneath it, the skin was starting to stitch itself closed again. She looked over at Fael who stared back with those solid black eyes, completely unreadable.

"Fael, you're okay," Laura said relieved. "How did we get out?"

"Me," Kurt said as he knelled down next to Laura. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you," she said to the blue-skinned mutant. "Where's Wolverine?"

"Kitty, I mean, Shadowcat is getting him out," he said sheepishly.

Laura nodded as she struggled to sit up, which she accomplished with Nightcrawler's assistance. Fael said nothing as she continued to lay next to them. She felt nauseous for some reason.

Laura turned her attention back to Inkwell. "Ink, HYDRA is nothing more than a group of monsters that were using us for guinea pigs. I had to do it."

Fael said nothing in response. She turned her head to stare back up at the sky. She could hear the sound of sirens approaching. The police and fire department would be there shortly. '_Always on time,_' she thought glumly. She struggled to rise until Storm grabbed her from behind, and helped her to her feet.

Fael said nothing even after Storm had asked her a question; she just tuned her out. She began to walk toward the wreckage just as Shadowcat and Wolverine phased out of the debris.

"I suppose you want me to thank you," Inkwell said to him as she pulled the cigarette off of her ear and lit it on a piece of still-burning debris next to them.

"No," Wolverine coughed. "I want you and Laura both to start over."

Fael took a long drag of her cigarette, and her face broke into a flirtatious grin. "And I thought you didn't care," she cooed. She flicked black ink at the tiny flame she had lit her cigarette from, and listened to it hiss as it died.

Wolverine groaned in pain as he limped toward the others, while Kitty tried to help him along. He collapsed face first into the pavement from exhaustion.

"Wolverine!" Kitty and Laura shouted as the two of them went to his aid. Storm and Kurt followed.

Inkwell casually took another long drag of her cigarette as she listened to the approaching sirens.

"You better get out of here," Inkwell said to them. "They'll think you did it."

"And what are you going to do," Storm asked her, as she helped Wolverine to his feet.

"I guess I'm gonna take the fall for it," Inkwell said with a shrug.

"Don't you have family? Somewhere to go home to?" Storm inquired.

Fael laughed. "You're looking at it." She flicked the cigarette butt into the rubble.

Storm thought for a moment. "Come with us," she said at last.

"I'm kidding," Fael smiled. "Of course I have a home."

"No, she doesn't," Laura interjected. "You have no where to go, Ink."

"I owe you for that!" Inkwell shot back.

Laura looked at her with sadness written on her normally hard features.

"Don't look at me with pity!" Inkwell yelled at her. "No emotion. Remember?"

Storm stepped between them and placed a hand on Inkwell's shoulder. "You and I are a lot alike, Inkwell. I grew up an orphan in Cairo, and the person who raised me was an evil man. I did a lot of very bad things for him; thinking that he loved me. It wasn't until I met Charles Xavier and the X-Men that I finally found a home. Come with us, if only for the night. We'll treat your wounds and give you a place to sleep."

"That would be very unwise," a voice said from behind Storm. The woman dressed in all white approached them.

"There you are, Merge," Inkwell greeted her cheerfully. "I'll let you kill me now."

Merge stepped toward her, but Storm and Laura both turned to defend Inkwell. Fael felt somewhat shocked.

Merge remained stoic. "Please don't get in the way. If she goes back with you there is a strong possibility she will kill each one of you in turn for vengeance."

"That's right!" Inkwell chimed. "I want revenge. Let her kill me."

"No!" Storm said as she turned to face her. "I won't let you throw your life away, child."

"We have to go, guys!" Kitty said, as she spotted red and blue lights down the road.

"There's no time for discussion. Kurt," Storm began.

Nightcrawler moved forward and touched Storm and Inkwell. Storm reached for Merge and for Shadowcat who in turn reached for Wolverine and Laura. They all vanished, leaving behind a puff of sulfuric smoke.


End file.
